Megachile centuncularis?

[JRsbugs]

Hi,

I always have another Megachile later than M. willughbiella which looks different to me so I've sorted out a few pics which I managed to get. They can move swiftly when on flowers, and I have more than one at once so it gets confusing as to which one I'm following!

Taken on 30th June 2008. I think this is a female Megachile willughbiella. I'm posting it for comparison.


Taken on 30th June 2008, a female feeding on Campanula species.


Taken on 19th July 2008. I think this is the same one as on 30th June with darker legs.


Same bee as on 19th July 2008.


Taken on 20th July 2008. This female had a long rest on a Campanula species. It's the back leg which looks the same to me as pics I have seen of Megachile centuncularis.


Two more to post of the last one.

Janet

[JRsbugs]

Taken on 20th July 2008, same bee as last pic in first post.

[JRsbugs]

Bumping this one up too, lol, is this one impossible?

[eucera]

I have a feeling these are all M. willughbiella. This species is VERY strongly associated with Campanula flowers and is a size bigger than M. centuncularis 9which is more generally found on Asteraceae flowers)

It seems strange to see a female Megachile without a whacking great pollen load!

Stuart

[JRsbugs]

Originally Posted by eucera

I have a feeling these are all M. willughbiella. This species is VERY strongly associated with Campanula flowers and is a size bigger than M. centuncularis 9which is more generally found on Asteraceae flowers)

It seems strange to see a female Megachile without a whacking great pollen load!

Stuart

Thanks Stuart. I measured the last pic for length, I know I get 10x magnification when I take as close as possible and the bee sat there for ages so I did get them at minimum distance. It's close on 100mm, so would be a little under 10mm. I don't know how long M. willughbiella is though!

That is what throws me too, the lack of pollen, as I never see M. willughbiella without but if these are that then I see them every year without. It's always later in the season, I had some pics of others so will have to download my DVD which should have some from 2006. I took pics of one which had climbed into a Lathyrus for a rest, it had no pollen on either. Even when M. willughbiella takes a short break for a clean up, and it usually is short, they have lots of pollen. I don't even see these collecting pollen when they feed, which is strange as I have two bees feeding on the same flowers with one scraping pollen off the anthers while the other just feeds. I imagine M. centuncularis would collect pollen the same anyway, so is this something else, my thoughts are running along the idea of newly hatched bees but I haven't a clue as to when they should appear, and the pics are 3 weeks apart.

Janet